All Pa. schools to get limited doses of heroin antidote for free

Only one high school in Lancaster County, Warwick, already has made plans to stock Narcan in its high school hearth room.

Pennsylvania is the first state to take advantage of this program, which is sponsored by Adapt Pharma in partnership with the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, under the Clinton Foundation.

“I am thrilled to announce my administration’s next step in the fight against the opioid epidemic,” said Governor Wolf. “By equipping trained professionals in schools with this drug, we are providing another way to save Pennsylvanian lives. It is our responsibility to give these struggling individuals another chance at life.”

The cartons of Narcan, in nasal spray form, will be issued through school nurses.

Hundreds of lives have been saved from heroin and opiate overdoses since  the Wolf administration authorized a standing order for Narcan for first responders, in 2015.

“Opioid addiction is the most pressing health threat in Pennsylvania today and the availability of naloxone is a critical component in our broad effort to address it,” said Department of Health Secretary Dr. Karen Murphy. “This generous donation will ensure that all public schools across the Commonwealth have access to naloxone. As a result many more lives will be saved and those young people, with their futures ahead of them, will be able to receive the treatment they need.”

“In rural areas, it may take longer for emergency first responders to reach patients,” said Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis. “Thus stocking this medication on school grounds can prevent many unnecessary deaths. We need to ensure that anyone who might be in a position to encounter an opioid overdose has access to this lifesaving antidote.”